RuntheDamnBall

My mistake! Thanks for the info. I am not sure they were that certain on Flynn, or else they wouldn't have drafted Wilson and given him the chance to compete for the job in camp, but point taken. Anyway, my point stands that I think it's ludicrous to pin your hopes on a guy you worked with in college if you're moving to the pros. If it all lines up, great, but you can't shut the door on better prospects just because you're familiar with a lesser one. It's Taylor Mays that Carroll passed on from his own team, to correct my mistake.

I like Nassib. I hate the idea of picking him at #8 when no one else in their right mind would do so. And he is not close to the prospect Smith is, IMO.

See the player A vs. Player B graphics. Can't get them here. Now, whom would you say is better, the player who has twice eclipsed 8 YPA, or the one who hasn't? The one whose completion percentage improved every year to a startling 71.2%, or the one whose plateaued around 66%? The one who never threw over 7 INTs per season, or the one who averaged around 12.5 INTs? The one whose rating hovered around the mid 140s, or the one who improved every season up to about 164? Player A is Jones. Player B is Geno Smith. The only stats I see Jones winning out on are career passing yardage, which is in part because he was subbing for an injured Bradford his first year, and sacks taken, which I will chalk up to a better OU offensive line. I rest my case. Edit: working on the look of this. Hold on. Player A.tiff Player B.tiff

I think you take the highest graded QB available, and you only put these factors into consideration if the players are close. I respect differences of opinion but I don't put Nassib in Geno's class. For me, drafting Nassib at #8 is the equivalent of playing scared with the lead, because the only justification is the belief he won't be there in R2-3. Leave no stone unturned and then take the guy you know, right? Jimmy Johnson drafted Emmitt Smith from rival UF. Just sayin'...

To which I say, so what. You didn't see Carroll take Mark Sanchez, and he waited for a true franchise guy to come around this season. Do you think he regrets that decision? Your system will only take you so far. A great QB will take you further. If they grade out Geno far better than Nassib -- and I do, by at least a round -- and still take the path of least resistance, shame on them.

Shut up and drink your beer, sissy.

Or you could argue that when their only hope to stay in the game was to score fast with the passing game, he succeeded. Point taken, though. I think Cuse had a better game plan and the WVU defense had no answer for Syracuse (which is no surprise - they had no answer for anybody all season).

Right, and I'm not even saying he's a sure thing, because who is? I've just repeated over and over again what I like about him and replies from the haters are usually some kind of caveman-esque murmuring of... "he sucks!" "Pinstripe Bowl" "Couldn't play Syracuse!" "Beat in the snow!" It's like he's played one game in his college career or something.

Nice to see Buffalo Barbarian has multiple accounts. Why will Geno be a bust? I still haven't seen anyone argue this credibly.

Rob Johnson, Jr.

I hold his position and can answer yes to both questions. Opinions are opinions, dude. Pro scouts have differences of opinion, too. One person's red flag is another person's coachable room for improvement. One person's history of success is another's definition of weak competition. One person's excuse of a bad team surrounding the player is another's view that the player isn't elite and can't elevate his team.

I agree. He needs seasoning, no doubt, and any team that drafts him and starts him immediately will take some lumps, but I think he has the tools.

Lots and lots of THIS. For what it's worth, Brees was not elite until he started at N.O. He was actually horrific at times in SD but grew into the role and had a lights-out campaign after Rivers was drafted. But I don't think you become elite until you've done it for a few years. I always liked him, but there were concerns aplenty about him for various reasons throughout his San Diego tenure.

I wonder, too, about this ex-player, and the answer is just going to be in the context. Is it a guy like Lee Evans who saw a carousel of coaches, solutions, strategies employed during his tenure, with no real plan or team-building involved and no innovation or foresight? Or is it a guy who wasn't liked here and it's more just sour grapes? I could see this question in two ways: "Why are you a fan? They are cold and calculating, they take you for granted, and they don't care about the football product..." or "Why are you a fan? This franchise is a joke..." I hope it's being turned around but my fears about trying to re-build a Big East contender in the NFL are so far, founded. Again, without Mike Pettine I'd be pretty far from caring right now. They have a big job to do in finding their QB, and Nassib would be not a classic Bills pick, but a classic Bills move -- stick with what's familiar and you don't have to be afraid of the unknown. Except in this case, the unknown is success.

This Geno BAD, Landry GOOD thing is insufferable. I think everyone gets how you feel about it at this point.

Umm, we're judging a player who plays in West Virginia based on one performance in the snow, and yet want a QB from Arkansas or NC State? And Nassib played in a dome and did not have an awesome Pinstripe Bowl, his team simply won on the strength of a great pounding running game while Nassib played capably. It's hip to sh-- on Geno, I get it, but his accuracy and the way he generally minimizes mistakes are numbers that don't lie.

Isn't Te'o the guy they gave the key to the city to?

Sounds like Donte. Or Brad Butler. Now I'm intrigued!

Now we're getting somewhere. Try the Southern Tier 2xIPA if you haven't already. They got a nice little thing going down there in Lakewood.

While I think you have a point, it's early enough to serve notice that the pick is available to see if anybody starts biting, then start playing offers against one another. They can then make threats to just use the pick on a guy they eventually like.

I suppose. I guess I work with sneaky, tech-savvy NYC college kids, though. Chuck Klosterman killin' it on Grantland. Gladwell: Klosterman:

That's the smart move. If you're at #1 you are both negotiating with potential picks and looking at the value of trading down. Spreading the notion that they're not that excited by or sold on any one player tells other teams they are open for business. It also tells players that they might want to draw down a bit in their negotiation demands, in hopes of being #1 overall and still likely getting the most money in the draft.

Seems convenient, but maybe Te'o is that dumb and naive.

Isn't it Okkam's shaver?

See, for some, that means we can't afford to part with him, and for others, that's a wake-up call regarding a giant issue. If he is one of the best we have, that's simply pathetic. Upgrade the entire LB corps for christsakes. There are always teams giving up on a London Fletcher or another older player with good years left in him. There are always good LBs deeper in the draft. Try to get one of the better ones in FA, and then take some good, calculated risks. If Sheppard is still among the better ones after that, then good for him.